A late-night institution: the Würstelstand

After a long night of revelry, there is nothing like a hearty snack to avoid a rude awakening the next day.

Therefore, inner city streets are peppered with so-called Würstelstände, the Ausrian equivalent of the kebab house. These are food stalls that specialise in serving a wide range of sausages and staying open until dawn. A typical hangover buster would be a pair of grilled or cooked sausages, served with freshly grated horseradish, mustard, ketchup, gherkins, a piece of dark bread and a can of local beer.

The Würstelstand owner is a robust, humourous character who has nerves of steel and enjoys to dish out sideorders of worldy wisdom on the house. The later the hour, the more eccentric the stall's clientele - often a mix of taxi drivers, clubbers and insomniacs. A stop-over at a Würstelstand on the way home means to get involved in a truly Austrian ritual – and you might even get to know some of the more unusual locals.